Reptile & Amphibian Forums

so i just logged on to get a shipping guote from fedex to ship a mbk and an albino nelsons and the prices have jumped quite a bit.
i now see that i have to lower my prices just to be able to justify shipping animals, does anyone else seem to see this trend?
i mean it is going to cost 75 bucks to ship from ny to kansas when it used to cost about 50-55.

what does this mean for our industry?
our market is going to have to fluctuate to accomadate shipping if prices continue to rise, or most people wont be buying smaller cost animals.

looks like the shows will have to be the way to go.
adam jeffery
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" a.k.a. farfrumugen "
When I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did, in his sleep -- not screaming, like the passengers in his car.

Yes shipping costs have gone up quite a bit in the past few months. Fedex raised their rates in Febuary and they added a 28% fuel surcharge to every box! Then since most of us ship signature required that's another $3.. So, your average ship cost will range between $65-$72 instead of $45 to 55..

~ Mike Russo

I hate to say it but, the signature required box doesn't count for anything. They DO NOT wait for a signature even if it is paid for. It is just something they charge you extra for and don't deliver on the service. It even states in the terms of service they will not wait for signature. If YOU require a signature, it is best to have them hold it for pickup at the shipping location.

I think it's odd people are complaining about $75 shipping charges when back in the old days Delta and US Air were the only methods and they were almost always $70.....now they are over $100.
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www.brandonosbornereptiles.com

plus always say its from a business going to a business.They won't check and its cheaper.

And Like Brandon said, cut down the size of the darn boxes.I had a guy ship one tiny baby celaenops to me last week in a 12x12x12 box? it was $92.00 and I could have shipped 20 adults in that box.

L8r Shannon

Yup. I make all my own boxes and cut all my own styro. Boxes run me around $1 ea and styro is about $8 for a 4x8 sheet. I can get many boxes from one sheet of styro and if I need a larger box it's all right there.

I think people are still used to the old days where Delta would ship any size box as long as it was under 100 lbs. for the same price. It's not like that with the parcel shippers. They charge by size and weight.

Shannon, a 12x12 for two hatchling?! That's crazy. I would have put them in a VHS shipper. lol.
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www.brandonosbornereptiles.com

I have been doing it for years now. Every once in a while you run into someone who didnt like the look of a styrofoam/duct tape box(and they complain on other websites,lol)but they are ALOT more cost effective and efficient. Last month I had to ship a large quantity of boas(40#)and fedex quoted me $197 from Mass to FL. A week earlier I had flown down there myself....and my ROUND TRIP price was $140!! And I am a tad bit over 40#!! The shipping companies are as guilty as any gas station for price gouging! Times are tough, and you have to find a better way to ship. Not everyone wants to pay the extra $25-35 to have a nice NEW shipping box that doesnt match the size of the order. We gotta go back to judging the animals and the breeder not the packaging dont ya think?

The hobby may trend back to what it used to be.. more local selling and trading as opposed to shipping. Perhaps buyers will rely more on reptile show and sale events to avoid shipping costs. I know I will. Why would I pay $50 to ship a snake when I can enjoy a reptile show and pick the snake up there for likely less money?
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Mark

I guess it depends on your location. Mark, I'm sure being in FL, you have much more to choose from than Indiana where I am from. For me, it is still worth having something shipped. Most of our shows here are Crap....did you notice the capital C? lol. Same WC junk month after month. There is a new show here in my city that is trying to make changes....finally. All other shows are 3 hours minimum and will likely cost me $75-100 in gas anyway.....plus food. I love food!lol. I don't mind sitting in my underwear online and getting snakes. ...but I also enjoy some shows. See you in Daytona!

Brandon
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www.brandonosbornereptiles.com

It also depends on what you are shipping. Personally I never paid $35 to shipp a $25 snake. We'll continue to ship higher dollar, rare breeds and unique animals but the routine finds will increasingly come from local breeders and shows.

I just shipped this week from S. Indiana to New York for $49. If you are shipping hatchlings, use a smaller box. There is no need to use enormous boxes to ship a couple of snakes. Also using larger boxes is harder to control inside temps. My normal shipping box measures 10x8x8 and I have shipped many adult colubrids in them as well. Adjust your box size and watch your costs go down. If you don't already have an account with them, set it up and you also get a discount that way.

Good luck.
Brandon
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www.brandonosbornereptiles.com

the box size i was getting a quote for was a 7x9x12 and under two pounds. i will look and see if i can get a smaller box and cut the styro myself. i must say though out of the hundreds of snakes i bought i dont think i ever recieved a smaller box than the 7x9x12 but i could be mistaken.
adam jeffery
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" a.k.a. farfrumugen "
When I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did, in his sleep -- not screaming, like the passengers in his car.

what bs is it that the usps will ship lizards and not snakes? i recieved some uros and it was 23 bucks to ship them.
i mean come on.
what would happen if they caught you shipping snakes?
also how would they know what was in the box unless it opened up?
adam
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" a.k.a. farfrumugen "
When I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did, in his sleep -- not screaming, like the passengers in his car.

with too small a box at certain times of the year is you end up having to put the deli cups where they almost touch the heat or cool pack which I don't like. If it's a time of the year I don't need a heat or cool pack I will use a real small box but to me PERSONALLY, I like to use a 12 by 9 by 6 inch box just so I can get 3 or 4 inches between the snakes and the heat or cool packs. You then have enough space to get some newspaper or insulation inbetween the two.
I used to make my own boxes but found that after the price of the boxes and the sheets of blue board or styro I was lucky if I saved a $1.50 a box which is not worth the hassle of cutting the insulation to line the box to me.
As far as the price of shipping it is truely getting rediculous Adam.

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Randy Whittington

i wasnt around when the shipping was by air freight only so im used to 40-50 doller shipping then i have to qoute a customer 77 dollers to have a package delivered to kansas from ny!!
maybe he lived out in the boonies or something and that increased the shipping some. its not bad for high volume sellers that can get fixed lower rates but for hobbiests its getting rediculous.
as another poster wrote theirs just no goods shows right close to here. i could make the long drive to hamburg pa or white plains ny but their a good 5 hour only show i know of is buffalo and its pretty tiny.
adam jeffery
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" a.k.a. farfrumugen "
When I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did, in his sleep -- not screaming, like the passengers in his car.